Of course, first Silva has to defend his title against Chael Sonnen
at UFC 147 on June 29. Sonnen nearly beat him in their first
encounter, but Boetsch doesn’t like the challenger’s chances in the
rematch.

“I think he’s going to have Chael’s number this time,” Boetsch told
the Sherdog
Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I think he’s not going to
make the same mistakes twice … especially after seeing Chael’s
performance against [Michael] Bisping. I was surprised to see him
get beat up that bad by Bisping. I think Chael’s probably going to
end up getting knocked out by Anderson.”

Boetsch added that Sonnen did surprise him with his performance in
the first fight, though, and even drew up a kind of blueprint for
beating the Brazilian. In fact, Boetsch thinks he could use a
similar strategy against Silva if he ever fights him.

“Chael showed a strong wrestler does well against him,” Boetsch
said. “The only thing that Chael failed to do was damage Anderson
throughout the fight, and that’s kind of my specialty. I will
deliver a high amount of damage from start to finish, and that
would make a huge difference in the outcome of the fight.”

Another difference Boetsch sees between himself and Silva’s other
opponents is that he’s not scared of the champion.

“A lot of fighters out there are,” Boetsch said. “They think of him
as an invincible superhero. If you’re thinking that way about your
opponent, you’ve already lost. I think that’s what happens to a lot
of guys. They lose that fight before they even get in the cage with
him.”

That’s not the case with Sonnen. He was less than two minutes from
a likely decision over Silva in August 2010 before succumbing to a
triangle-armbar submission. If he employs a similar game plan in
the rematch, Sonnen might be able to pull off the upset. Boetsch
won’t be rooting for him, though.

“I want Anderson to hold onto that belt until I get there,” Boetsch
said. “He is obviously a legend in the sport already. That being
said, everybody has to lose eventually and I want to be the guy to
take that belt from him. That’s been a dream of mine for a long
time.”